


family

by Ocearna



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Gen, skull gets hurt, the arcobaleno have their own way of caring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24625798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ocearna/pseuds/Ocearna
Summary: Inspired by the amazingw0nd3rl3i'sart!Skull wakes up in a hospital. The other Arcobaleno care, in their own ways.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 265





	family

**Author's Note:**

> first: w0nd3rl3i is AMAZING AND HER ART IS BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! this fic is based on [this beautiful drawing of Skull recovering from injuries](https://twitter.com/w0nd3rl3i/status/1259453759572197377), though would recommend ALL her art because it's all absolutely amazing!! <3 <3 <3
> 
> idk if this is canon or fanon or headcanon but: assume oodako can grow and shrink (because cloud flames, c'mon)
> 
> I tried to research a few things for Fon and Lal's parts but it's probably inaccurate I'm sorry please forgive me!
> 
> also, it's midnight and this is my third attempt at this fic (because wonderlei's pic is TOO BEAUTIFUL TO NOT BECOME FIC but also my brain doesn't want to write atm) so posting before I lose my nerve again. not beta'd, so any mistakes are mine.
> 
> next up: finishing the next chapter of Overcast Skies. I kinda wrote myself into a corner, so currently slowly digging myself out of that... >_>

Skull groans as he comes to. Everything hurts - though that’s not a particularly new sensation - and from the sound and smell of it he is in the hospital. Again. 

It’s a pity that he’s finally broken his record for how many days he can go between hospital stays. Before the Arcobaleno Curse, he used to end up in hospital every few months with something broken from a stunt gone wrong. But ever since the Curse kicked his Cloud Flames into an even higher gear in order to be able to steal even more from him, every injury he had received had healed in hours, if not minutes. 

Breaking the Curse had meant his Flames changing  _ again _ though, now that they weren’t being eaten up by the Pacifier, and that on top of the rapid growth spurts he and the other Arcobaleno had been suffering meant that… Well. Apparently even  _ Reborn _ had been caught stumbling when he forgot just how tall he was now, so needless to say they were  _ all _ dealing with balance and movement problems from the rapid growth of their bodies.

Of course, Reborn was living relatively safely in Japan, unlike Skull who had returned to death-defying stunts the moment he was tall enough to look like a teenager, but  _ anyway _ . 

Just because the others are cowards doesn’t mean Skull has to be too. He’s the Great Skull after all! Nothing can kill him, even if his body seems to be trying it’s hardest at the moment. 

Skull carefully twitched his toes then his fingers, trying to take stock of his body. Nothing hurt from the movement - in fact, nothing really hurt apart from some low-level aches. That made Skull frown, having expected a lot more pain from whatever had landed him in the hospital, and decided to finally try to open his eyes.

Surprisingly, when he cracked one eye open it wasn’t met with blinding light. He let the other eye open too and blinked into the darkness that surrounded him. At first, he thought it might just be nighttime, but it was too dark even for that. Then the weight of something resting on his head - and the top half of his face - finally registered and Skull realised he was staring  _ at _ something. 

Moving slowly, Skull lifted a hand then an arm, carefully bringing it up to blindly -  _ ha - _ grab at the thing resting on his head. His hand met some kind of material, a couple of inches away from his face, and purely on muscle memory, his hand closed around it so he could lift it up.

Staring at the black mass against the backdrop of the white hospital ceiling, Skull blinked until his sight slid into focus. Then he recognised the hat and had to scramble to stop his expression from splitting into a wide grin. Verde would have hijacked the cameras after all, and it wouldn’t do to see him grinning madly at Reborn’s hat. Not his usual one - the material wasn’t as nice and the colour wasn’t as dark, so it was probably one of the spares Leon usually carried around - but definitely one of Reobrn’s hats, complete with an orange band.

A movement from the weight on his legs - which he had assumed was just a blanket or something - had Skull twitching in surprise and hurriedly looking down towards his feet. The sight of Oodako, curled up in his lap when it has obviously been sleeping, made his expression change into a genuine and happy smile. Skull placed the hat back onto his head - realising he had a headache when it suddenly disappeared as the hat settled back into place - and moving his hand to instead gently pat the octopus. 

“Saw I was… awake, did you?” Skull asked quietly, having to pause halfway through as the words stuck in his dry throat. Grinning at Oodako’s excitedly waving tentacles, Skull took a minute to just enjoy spoiling the octopus before his throat got too annoying, now that he had realised just how dry and sore it was. 

Finally glancing around the room he was in, Skull hid a smile again at the large, private and sun-lit hospital room he had apparently been given. Considering Mammon managed his money for him, either he had lucked out or they had been feeling generous when they had organised this room. Or both, considering Mammon’s cheapskate tendencies. And considering the larger than usual room and the softer than usual bed, Skull suspected that some of the luxury was the result of Mist Flames, not just money.

There were a couple of chairs on one side of the bed, a small table between them. A calming ocean painting hung on the light cream walls, probably chosen to reflect the natural light coming in from the window beside the bed. There were a few monitoring machines arrayed around the bed Skull was lying in, and amongst them all, on the opposite side of the bed to the visitors’ chairs, was a small side table. 

Which had a steaming teapot sitting on it.

Skull blinked, then huffed an almost-silent laugh. Using his Storm Flames to keep tea warm was one of Fon’s favourite tricks, but he had broken multiple teacups and teapots due to his fluctuating control since the Curse was broken. Apparently he had gotten proper control of his Flames again if he had managed to saturate a teapot enough to keep water hot for who knew how many hours. 

Beside the pot were two small teacups, both painted with traditional designs to match the teapot, and two ceramic containers that Skull assumed contained tea. Skull knew it wasn’t the optimal way to brew tea - he had drunk tea with Fon enough times to have learned how it should be done - but he appreciated the gift. And knowing Fon the teas probably had medicinal properties, so he would be sure to drink it.

Which, speaking of medicine… There was another tea canister, half-hidden behind Fon’s more flashy gift. It was of the small, plain, metal kind though - sturdy, a bit worn, and designed to last even in rough conditions. It was very Lal, and Skull could already imagine the kind of tea he would find inside - lots of ginger, for sure, since Lal seemed to have a ridiculous tolerance for its bite  _ and _ think ginger solved everything. 

Thankfully, besides all the lovely gifts there was also a simple plastic cup half-full of water. Skull went to grab it but then realised that trying to drink it while lying down probably wasn’t the best plan. So, with another groan and a gentle pat to Oodako’s head, Skull levered himself up onto his elbows then dragged his body back so he could collapse onto the pillow again, but slightly more upright. 

An absent movement had him righting the hat on his head from where it had slipped - and bringing those wonderful Sun Flames back to where they could best fight the headache trying to form behind his eyes. He also reached out and snagged the cup of water, bringing it back to his mouth to sip at the delicious liquid, very glad of the way it was soothing his throat. 

He also went back to patting Oodako, grinning at its excitedly squirming arms, wishing for the millionth time that the octopus could talk. Although, he was kind of surprised that Oodako had stayed in his lap so far. Usually, his excitable little friend would be trying to climb all over him by now, unless…

Skull was going to blame the fact that he hadn’t seen the jacket until now on the green blankets that were definitely almost the same colour, alright. That kind of army green was pretty common after all, and Collonello’s jacket was almost completely hidden by Oodako’s body too. It also explained why Oodako was so calm, considering the way it was partially wrapped around the octopus and the amount of Rain Flames radiating off the material. 

Reborn, Mammon, Fon, Lal, Colonnello… Skull mentally ticked everyone off. That only left Verde and maybe Aria. Of course, Verde might have done something with the hospital or its equipment but that seemed too… distant for the scientist. Surely he would want to monitor Skull more closely than that, even just for the data…

Finally reaching out with his Flames instead of his senses - which Reborn would have shot him for not doing as soon as he woke up but what Reborn didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him - Skull blinked as he realised Verde’s Flames weren’t just in the room but were wrapped around him. Looking down at his hands, Skull finally realised that he wasn’t just wearing hospital scrubs - he was also wearing a white lab coat over the top. It was plain and could have been anyone’s, except Skull could feel the currents of Lightning Flames running through it like electrical wiring. Probably powering some kind of sensors that were monitoring his health - there was no way Verde would trust the (comparatively) inaccurate hospital equipment after all. 

That just left Aria, and now that he was tuned into his Flames, Skull didn’t have to wonder if she had visited. It wasn’t any one thing that felt like her, but rather the whole room was lightly saturated in her Sky Flames. It was like sitting in the sun in spring - the beautiful feeling of soft sunlight warming your body, chasing away the cold of winter. Aria’s Flames also carried hints of the other Arcobalenos’ Flames, like a familiar scent carried on the breeze, and Skull knew it was that which had him so relaxed. 

The only thing better than being wrapped in everyone’s Flames like this would have been actually having everyone there, sitting around his bed, chatting and teasing each other. But they were busy, upholding their titles and ensuring the world kept turning, so Skull knew why he had awoken alone. It was enough that, despite their busy schedules, each and every one of them had apparently taken the time to visit and leave him some kind of present. 

After all, the Arcobaleno might be a rather dysfunctional group from an outsider’s perspective, but sitting here, surrounded by everyone’s Flames and presents, Skull knew he wouldn’t trade his crazy little family for the world. 


End file.
